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Free Movie Night: Let’s Talk About Stuff!

Have you ever looked around your house and thought to yourself, “Man! I have so much junk!” Why do we have so much useless stuff? Where does all this stuff come from? Where does it go after we throw it away? Annie Leonard explores these questions in her short video called, “The Story of Stuff.”… Read more »

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1st quarter CAP: Overnight!

On the weekend of the 26th, the 1st quarter CAP class went on their first overnight! Allenspark was beautiful, as always — and not a cloud in the sky! In fact, the only imperfection that weekend was the wind. It blew and blustered all the day and night. But in spite of a rather sleepless… Read more »

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What’s CAP up to? First Post

What’s this quarter’s CAP class been up to? let’s take a peek! A guest speaker talked about environmental issues surrounding Open Space on a hike, and they’ve had many guest speakers already. Students are way stoked about their action project, which will address Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs. More information on that soon — stay… Read more »

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Alumni Spotlight: Dana Nelson

Dana was one of the very first students to register for the Cottonwood Institute’s core educational program called the Community Adventure Program at New Vista High School when the program first launched during the 2003 – 2004 school year. Q: What are you up to these days? A: Well I’m a recent graduate from the… Read more »

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Successful Volunteer Day at Sunrise Century

Amidst the splendor of the surrounding mountains, Team Cottonwood Institute arrived at the Sunrise Century Bike Race in Boulder on July 25, ready to conquer the world of route marshaling. We donned our orange safety vests and valiantly took on the challenge of the cowbell, ringing it passionately as the cyclists flew by our posts… Read more »

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Alumni Snapshot: Cailin Marsden

Cailin Marsden was a part of the very first Community Adventure Program (CAP) class at New Vista High School in the fall of 2003. Since then she has kept in touch with the Cottonwood Institute and for a short time helped to contribute to the Institute’s blog. Cailin’s passion for the environment and the outdoors… Read more »

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Gardens for Good

Gardening can often be hot and tiring work. The students in the 3rd and 4th quarter Community Adventure Program class at PS1 Charter School in Denver didn’t think about this when they decided to to address urban gardening and local food production for their Action Project this spring. But what they found is that gardening… Read more »

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Bees, Building, and Bites

What’s the buzz? The 4th quarter Community Adventure Program (CAP) students at New Vista High School completed their amazing Action Project: a brand new bee garden, soon to be chock-full of sustainable food! The class was at a crossroads, wishing they could work on three different themes: green building, disappearing bees, and local gardens. Together,… Read more »

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Community Adventure Program, Spring 2009

This quarter the girls in the Community Adventure Program class are working at Atlantis Community Incorporated. Atlantis serves, and advocates for, people with disabilities in Denver and nationwide. In front of the organization’s headquarters in the Baker District is a community garden. The garden, which is part of the Denver Urban Gardens network, provides food… Read more »